Metroid: The Violent Emotion
by Nazgul1698
Summary: Why has Samus never been unable to use the Hyper Beam since the final battle with Mother Brain? Could it be that the secret to unlocking it is not technological, but emotional? Read to understand the nature of THE VIOLENT EMOTION, and comprehend the depths of its true power!


Metroid

The Violent Emotion

* * *

In the metal tunnels, a hundred miles below the surface, there was nothing… nothing but ashes, dust, debris, and dried blood. Nothing had moved there, nothing had made a sound, not in many, many years.

A little light blinked on and off for a moment. Then there was a roar—and a cataclysmic boom.

Samus Aran jumped through the hole her Super Missile had made, preemptively threatening anything that dared to stand with a screw attack. She landed in a crouch, another Super Missile at the ready—but there was nothing. Even the ghosts feared her, it seemed.

After a moment, she stood, all 1.9 meters of her, 2 meters if you counted her Power Suit. She lowered her weapon, now equipped with an ice beam, and entered the enclosure step by meticulous step.

There weren't just ghosts here, after all. There were memories… evil, terrible memories.

Because this was Zebes. And this forgotten little tunnel system, miles below the surface… this was where, not that long ago, she had defeated the entity known as Mother Brain… right after it had murdered the last wild Metroid in the galaxy.

Beneath her visor, within her armor, Samus shut her eyes. Swallowed. Then forced herself to look up and move on. That was a long time ago; there was no need to be sad… she was here to find facts, not emotions.

But even she couldn't help but shed a tear when she found the glass shards that had enclosed Mother Brain… and the petrified, decaying remains of the last Metroid.

It had tried to kill her, that was true. But it was an accident—and then it had saved her, and protected her, and then it had given its life to her so that she could defeat Mother Brain.

And it was all because of the Hyper Beam. And that was why she was here. Because in all of the years, in all of the battles since that one fateful moment… that devastating weapon had forever been lost to her.

It didn't make sense. It didn't make any sense at all. One moment she had had it, and she had used it to rock Mother Brain… a single shot from that weapon knocked her fucking head back and she kept firing and firing until she screamed and her weapon overheated and the whole fucking planet exploded—

Samus jolted to her feet so quickly that her helmet collided with the helm. She was sweating in her armor, panting…

A nightmare. Another nightmare. She turned to the glowing controls of her ship—autopilot was still on, silently ferrying her to her next mission.

And she would succeed in her next mission, she was sure of it, hyper beam or no hyper beam.

But how… how had that happened? She had had it—it had been hers—and then, as Zebes began to disintegrate… she had lost it.

Except… wait a moment.

Samus activated the selection menu of her Power Suit. Scrolled to the beam setting and found a hidden entry of garbled characters… that just now, was starting to cohere.

Was it…? Could it be…?

And then it started to vanish again.

No… no… no!

Samus actually shouted and at that… all at once…

The hyper beam.

She could feel its energy, its power, flowing through her. Her body, her whole suit was pulsating vibrantly, overloaded with energy.

Was it real? Was it true? She had to know—had to test it.

Samus aimed her weapon to the port, the least critical part of her ship. Pulled the trigger and—

With a rush of escaping air and warning klaxons, the hyper beam's damage was obvious. A ragged hole blasted out of the side of her craft, all but crippling it, spraying plasma and shrapnel into space.

And she was only getting stronger—the beam was only getting more powerful.

And now she knew. Now she understood.

The power of the hyper beam… the deadly secret of its nature… was hate.

Blistering, raging, white-hot hatred. _That_ was what powered the hyper beam, that was what motivated it. That was how the Metroid had stolen it from Mother Brain and given it to her. It was a weapon employed in hate and stolen in hate, and then used to enact revenge—again in hate.

And now, as her emotions began to subside… the hyper beam began to grow dormant again.

No. No. Unacceptable. Never. She needed the hyper beam—needed it forever. And that meant that forevermore, she had to feel nothing… nothing but hate.

But how to do that? Where to even begin?

And then, as the ship began to repair itself, began to seal off the gaping wound Samus had inflicted on it… she found her answer. Quivering, huddled up in a corner, staring at her, pleading for mercy with their eyes alone…

Etecoons. Etecoons and a dachora. Her… friends, as it were. The beings that had helped her, the sweet little things that she had saved. And now they were the obstacle between her and absolute, total, unmitigated power.

She raised her weapon. Leveled the deadly hyper beam at them and then she remembered…

The Metroid… had come to save her not just out of hate for Mother Brain, but out of love for her. And she had avenged the Metroid, not just out of hate for Mother Brain, but out of love for it. If she did this, now… it would be a hateful act. But not a hateful act motivated by love.

And in a way, love and hate weren't that far apart. They were a symbiotic organism, practically inextricable from one other… one balanced the other, an eternal yin-yang dance that powered… everything.

Samus felt her heart rate slow. The hyper beam began to power down—no matter. When she sat down next to the etecoons and dachora, and let them come to her, and felt them cuddle close… she felt that terribly, potent, deadly power rise again. Because if anything came to harm them… the hatred she'd feel then would power the hyper beam, and give her the strength to end worlds.

It was a vicious power. A deadly power to be used sparingly. It was the most cataclysmic force in the universe, and the brainchild of the violent emotion… the emotion of love.


End file.
